Millennial Poverty Puts Generation Y On Track For Health Problems In Middle Age

More than 90% of women and 10% of men will be faced with dimply thighs at some point in their lives but there are far worse concerns on the horizon for younger generations. Millennials face greater health risks than their parents in middle age. According to a new report by the Health Foundation, millennials may be the first generation of Americans to face greater health problems in middle age compared to their parents’ generation with higher risks of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

The study linked Generation Y’s deteriorating health to the nation’s economic problems. Millennials, the report said, are the first generation to earn less money than their parents did at their age.

“Young people today are facing pressures that are very different to those of previous generations,” said Jo Bibby, the Health Foundation’s director of health.

In a survey of 2,000 people between the ages of 22 and 26, only 46% said they have enough financial and family support. Up to 80% said they felt under pressure to behave in a certain way because of the impact of social media.

Health Foundation researchers say millennials need a greater sense of security, both financially and in terms of housing, in order to build a healthier future. Thankfully, the majority of Americans still have access to vaccines, whichprevent more than 2.5 million unnecessary deaths every year.

Yet, as of right now, millennials are putting off major life milestones because they simply can’t afford them. And when they can afford them, they often do so in a non-traditional way.

For instance, millennials often opt to buy a used car, which has the average searched price range of under $5,000. And when it comes to marriage, up to 80% of millennials say they feel happy or neutral toward lab-grown diamonds compared to traditional ones.

Millennials are even changing the way they start a family, opting to have dogs and cats rather than children. (But that might not be too surprising in the U.S. where there are 75 million pet dogs, more than any other country).

While this method of achieving life milestones may seem avant-garde to some, millennials’ unconventional but frugal choices place Generation Y on par with the Great Generation.

“Just as their grandparents (and great-grandparents) before them, millennials experienced a major financial crisis during their formative years that has infused in them financial conservatism and a propensity to save,” Fortune reports.

Although strides have been made to improve health and wellness among the U.S. population such as with CBD hemp oil, which contains less than 0.3% THC, millennials’ financial problems is what’s putting them at greater risk for premature death.

According to a recent Washington Post study, older Americans are more conservative because poor Americans die at a younger age.

“Since white people suffer proportionately less from poverty than non-white people, they do tend to live longer, and in better health, which is conducive to political and other civic activism,” said Ed Kilgore of the Daily Intelligencer.

That said, the premature death of poor Americans compared to their wealthier peers isn’t new. But because of the financial burdens of Generation Y, which will become the largest generation in America by 2019, America will more than likely see this cause-and-effect of financial difficulty and poor health on a greater scale.